my audio setup.

B

brettzdamn

So i was thinking for a while on what to get for audio. I decided to go with one of the zoom recorders and use just that untill i get more for a mic to attach to the zoom. I have just won a zoom h4 on ebay for $106 including shipping. So untill i get more for a good xlr mic im thinking about puting my zoom h4 on the end of a boom and use an extention cord for my headphones for the boom operator. What do you guys think about the price i paid and if the sound will be good?
 
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The price is okay as long as the H4 is in good shape and comes with a data card.

The sound quality will depend entirely upon the amount of care and attention you put into the audio. That means the sound quality could be anywhere between almost acceptable to ungodly horrible.
 
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Alcove Audio said:
The price is okay as long as the H4 is in good shape and comes with a data card.

The sound quality will depend entirely upon the amount of care and attention you put into the audio. That means the sound quality could be anywhere between almost acceptable to ungodly horrible.
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Yeah the guy said it was in mint condition and in the picture looked perfect. Even on a boom u dont think the audo will be acceptable? what about for doing voice overs? i thought it would have sounded great lol.
 
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You have to understand my perspective - I have individual mics worth over $1,000 going into quality pre-amps; I listen on $3k worth of speakers in an isolated, treated room. In addition, I have 30+ years of critical listening experience. So the H4 sounds like dung to me already. It has a fairly high self noise floor that adds hiss to the sound. To my ears it also sounds brash and that's if it is being used skillfully.

From where I'm sitting you're pounding in a nail with a wrench instead of a hammer; it may get the job done, but it's not going to be pretty, and the odds are you're going to bend a hell of a lot of nails before you pound a few in straight. In other words, you are going to have to work extra hard to get any decent results at all because you are using the wrong tool for the job.

If you pay LOTS AND LOTS of attention to making sure that one of the mics is always aimed at the person speaking you have a chance at almost passable audio. Remember, there are TWO mics on the H4, so capturing the audio equally on both mics means that you will be picking up a lot of background noise. No matter what you do, however, it will probably sound better than what you have, but it will be FAR from great.
 
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Alcove Audio said:
You have to understand my perspective - I have individual mics worth over $1,000 going into quality pre-amps; I listen on $3k worth of speakers in an isolated, treated room. In addition, I have 30+ years of critical listening experience. So the H4 sounds like dung to me already. It has a fairly high self noise floor that adds hiss to the sound. To my ears it also sounds brash and that's if it is being used skillfully.

From where I'm sitting you're pounding in a nail with a wrench instead of a hammer; it may get the job done, but it's not going to be pretty, and the odds are you're going to bend a hell of a lot of nails before you pound a few in straight. In other words, you are going to have to work extra hard to get any decent results at all because you are using the wrong tool for the job.

If you pay LOTS AND LOTS of attention to making sure that one of the mics is always aimed at the person speaking you have a chance at almost passable audio. Remember, there are TWO mics on the H4, so capturing the audio equally on both mics means that you will be picking up a lot of background noise. No matter what you do, however, it will probably sound better than what you have, but it will be FAR from great.
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Alright i seewhere your comming from. So are you saying that i basicly just waisted my money on the zoom h4 or i would just need to get some nice mics to attach to it through the xlr ports on it?
 
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Look, don't get me wrong, it's a good purchase if what we're told about the condition of the unit is true. Go ahead, put it on the end of a boom pole. Your audio will probably be better than what you're getting now. And I'm all for better. But there are some unique audio problems with putting something like the H4 on the end of a boom; they can be dealt with, but you really have to pay attention to what you're doing, it takes more work than if you have a mic on the end of the boom.

All I'm saying regarding "specific tools" will become apparent to you when you put an entry level Audio Technica or Rode mic on the end of the boom pole and wire it to the H4. It will be another substantial increase in audio quality by several orders of magnitude. I don't want you to settle for a little bit better when a whole lot better is a few hundred dollars away.
 
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Alcove Audio said:
Look, don't get me wrong, it's a good purchase if what we're told about the condition of the unit is true. Go ahead, put it on the end of a boom pole. Your audio will probably be better than what you're getting now. And I'm all for better. But there are some unique audio problems with putting something like the H4 on the end of a boom; they can be dealt with, but you really have to pay attention to what you're doing, it takes more work than if you have a mic on the end of the boom.

All I'm saying regarding "specific tools" will become apparent to you when you put an entry level Audio Technica or Rode mic on the end of the boom pole and wire it to the H4. It will be ano.ther substantial increase in audio quality by several orders of magnitude. I don't want you to settle for a little bit better when a whole lot better is a few hundred dollars away.
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Yeah i understand what you mean now. So eventualy once i get some more money ill end up getting a nice shotgun mic to attach to the zoom h4. Maby like the Rode NTG-1 or the Azden SGM-1000.
 
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Alright well i dont even have the money for mics right now but when im ready to buy mics im deffinatly going to be in touch with you because you seem like you know everything their is to know about audio =). Thank you very much for all your help.
 
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Okay Alcove, gonna put you on the spot. The guy has his Zoom, let's say he has under 1k to spend for a basic indoor/outdoor package. What do you recommend? No cheating, can't go over 1k.
 
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